In 2014, there were 28 million patient discharges in U.S. hospitals. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates that in 2017, six million senior citizens were readmitted to hospitals, which cost an average of $15-20 million.

Topics: Care Coordination, Patient Safety, Nurse

Quality care for our patients is at the heart of Med Center Health. Part of quality care is following the latest evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of various disease states, especially those with high risk of mortality. According to the CDC, more than 1.7 million people acquire sepsis each year in the U.S. with at least 270,000 deaths as a result. But early identification and intervention can help patients dramatically. As the “Surviving Sepsis Campaign” has grown and evolved under the auspices of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the CDC and CMS have challenged hospitals and providers to treat sepsis as a medical emergency, set treatment goals, and rigorous deadlines.

Topics: Sepsis, Patient Safety

Have you seen MEDITECH’s For Us, It’s Personal video on what the healthcare industry means to us? In the video, I shared that my sister passed away from sepsis following a bone marrow transplant related to leukemia. Like many others, my personal experiences contribute to my passion at work, and my after-hours engagement as a member of a patient advisory board.

Topics: Patients, Patient Safety

As healthcare organizations further integrate technology into their operations, the risk of cyberattacks increases — and research shows that today’s healthcare leaders are continually looking for ways to lower that risk.

Topics: Patient Safety, Security

All industries are having to adjust to the increasing power of customer voices and on-demand consumer trends. In the world of healthcare, this makes patients the decision makers who hold the most important perspective.

Topics: Patients, Patient Engagement, Patient Safety

As healthcare continues to evolve, there is one constant when it comes to treating patients: The critical role that nurses play in delivering quality care. That role has certainly expanded over the years, particularly in the areas of establishing and maintaining patient safety, finding workflow efficiencies through evidence-based clinical documentation, and recognizing and responding to social determinants of health.

Topics: Nurse, Home Care, Patient Safety, Integration, Population Health, Security

Every day, nurses collect and analyze information to ensure that patients are getting the right care at the right time. That same preventative approach is critical to improving cybersecurity at the point of care.

Topics: nurses, Security, Big Data, Patient Safety, Healthcare IT

As caregivers, we all fall victim to “alert fatigue,” when the sheer number of alerts a clinician receives causes them to unknowingly miss important safety warnings. Ironically, all these alerts that are meant to improve patient safety can cause workers to become desensitized and potentially miss important warnings; from incessant smartphone buzzing, to tablet chimes or the blinking red indicators of your EHR.

Topics: Patient Safety, Physician, How to

Picture this. It’s 3am. A patient comes into your ER unconscious after a car accident just down the road. The patient has never been in your facility before so you don’t know the status of their medications, allergies, or any medical history. I think we can all agree, this makes it challenging to provide the safest, most accurate care.

Topics: Interoperability, CIO, Security, Patient Safety

Sepsis contributes to nearly one in two hospital deaths, making it one of the biggest concerns in healthcare today. Improving survival rates requires a combination of early symptom recognition and aggressive treatment.

Topics: Sepsis, CIO, Patient Safety